March 9th, 2023 / 2 min read
Earlier last year, a trip to Milan proved to be more influential that Nina – Concept Me Founder – could have imagined. Walking around the beautiful architecture of the city she loved, Nina was accompanied by one of her favorite clients. As the designer and the client discussed different options, ideas and potential tastes, a build-up started in Nina. Little by little, she came to realize that years of compromising design choices, years of accepting what the client wants even though it was not the right design choice, years of having to negotiate what’s best for the space had finally taken a toll on her. The epiphany came in the form of, ‘If one of my favorite clients can put so much distress on my design process, then the problem is not the client – it’s the business model I’m operating within.’
And so, a chain reaction of Nina thoughts began taking place and when that happens the results are usually quite intriguing to keep an eye out for! As someone who’s been in the industry for over 15 years now, Nina’s need for unbound creative expression, her need to give the space exactly what it deserves and to tell its narrative in the right aesthetic, the right signature piece and the correct architectural theme was being held back by one common enemy: client’s aiming to go for the safe option.
Telling a creative that they should avoid whatever is bold and necessary to go for the safe choice is like killing a beautiful idea that could have blossomed into the correct space narrative. As someone who has finally realized that they had had way too many compromises in their jar, Nina decided to work on something new and that something new included an empowered form of creativity, taking decisions into her hands personally, being the lead on the project both executively and financially and finally taking complete and full control of her work, the effort she put into it and the design imprint she leaves across the places that have her touch.
While the inspiration for the change came from purely creative sensibilities, the solution lies in a highly functional and professional approach. Nina had finally taken the choice, by the time she had left Milan on that epiphany-filled trip, to begin the next step in her career as an architect and a designer. The business model she is preparing will involve more concrete design choices, full liberty of the work she draws up and executes and a broad range of clients that will come to see the vision of someone whose creativity is never to be doubted and toned down come to life.
The bold choice to continuously shift markets and change the business model set up comes from a highly sensitive attitude towards creative liberty. Many designers do not seem to be concerned or bothered by the limitation of creativity as long as they get to do their job. Nina was built different and so, as she takes Concept Me to the next level, the plan is design beautiful narrative spaces with no limitation and absolutely no safe choices – that’s both in business and in the design field: risks pay off!
January 2nd 2024
Bring a little of the Mediterranean into your interior spaces. Bring the outdoors indoors and give the space a warm, welcoming feel!
December 11th, 2023
Embrace the discussion on resilience, woven with experiences, motivation, and the unwavering spirit of the Concept Me team.
